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SAN‘A, Yemen — Missiles fired by a U.S. drone slammed into a convoy of vehicles traveling to a
wedding party in central Yemen yesterday, killing at least 13 people, Yemeni security officials
said.

The officials said the attack took place in Radda, the capital of Bayda province, and left
charred bodies and burnt-out cars on the road.

The city, a stronghold of al-Qaida militants, witnessed deadly clashes early last year between
armed tribesmen backed by the military and al-Qaida gunmen in an attempt to drive them out of the
city.

There were no details on who was killed in the strike, and there were conflicting reports about
whether there were militants traveling with the wedding convoy.

A military official said initial information indicated that the drone mistook the wedding party
for an al-Qaida convoy. He said tribesmen known to the villagers were among the dead.

One of the three security officials, however, said al-Qaida militants were thought to have been
traveling with the convoy.

The CIA declined to comment on the reported drone strike. While the U.S. acknowledges its drone
program in Yemen, it usually does not talk about individual strikes.

If further investigations determine that the victims were all civilians, the attack could fuel
an outburst of anger against the United States and the government in San‘a among a Yemeni public
already opposed to the U.S. drone strikes.

The backlash in Yemen is still not as large as in Pakistan — where there is heavy pressure on
the government to force limits on strikes — but public calls for a halt to strikes are starting to
emerge.

The missile attacks in Yemen are part of a joint U.S.-Yemeni campaign against al-Qaida in the
Arabian Peninsula, which Washington has called the most dangerous branch of the terrorist
network.

Yesterday’s drone strike is the second since a massive car bombing and coordinated assault on
Yemen’s military headquarters killed 56 people, including foreigners. Al-Qaida claimed
responsibility for the attack, saying it was retaliation for U.S. drone strikes that have killed
dozens of the group’s leaders.

Security forces in the Yemeni capital boosted their presence yesterday, setting up checkpoints
and sealing off the road to the president’s residence, after threats targeting vital institutions
and government buildings.